Shloka 11

Matsya Purana — Division of Bhārata-varṣa

Devanagari script

द्वीपो ह्युपनिविष्टो ऽयं म्लेच्छैरन्तेषु सर्वशः यवनाश्च किराताश्च तस्यान्ते पूर्वपश्चिमे //

Transliteration

dvīpo hyupaniviṣṭo 'yaṃ mlecchairanteṣu sarvaśaḥ yavanāśca kirātāśca tasyānte pūrvapaścime //

Translation

This island-continent is indeed settled on all sides at its borders by mlecchas (foreign peoples); and the Yavanas and the Kirātas dwell at its eastern and western extremities.

Word by Word

• dvīpaḥ: island/continent

• hi: indeed

• upaniviṣṭaḥ: settled/inhabited

• ayam: this

• mlecchaiḥ: by mlecchas/foreigners

• anteṣu: at the borders/ends

• sarvaśaḥ: everywhere, on all sides

• yavanāḥ: Yavanas (Greeks/Western foreigners)

• ca: and

• kirātāḥ: Kirātas (mountain/forest peoples)

• ca: and

• tasya: of it

• ante: at the end/extremity

• pūrva-paścime: in the east and the west

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (to Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Dvīpa
• Mleccha
• Yavana
• Kirāta

Tags

• Cosmography
• Peoples
• Geography
• Mlecchas
• Puranic ethnography

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

Nothing directly about pralaya is stated here; the verse is a cosmographic note describing how a dvīpa’s border regions are inhabited by various foreign or peripheral peoples.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

Indirectly, it frames a king’s realm within a broader world of frontier communities—useful for understanding borderlands, diplomacy, and governance of peripheral groups mentioned in Purāṇic geography.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or ritual rule appears in this verse; its primary significance is geographical-ethnographic, locating Yavanas and Kirātas at the dvīpa’s extremities.